Halloumi and Honey Soufra: Niki Louca shares her beloved recipe

A few years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, Niki Louca had a few filo sheets left over from making a small batch of baklava and decided to experiment with it to make a savoury soufra.

Using the basis of feta, Niki replaced it with halloumi, mint and of course, honey. Halloumi and honey are a match made in heaven. It is also loosely based on the Cypriot boureki which we make with halloumi, mint and honey, but with homemade filo. I added the cream, eggs and milk to give it a custard-like mixture. In the traditional boureki recipe, there is no cream, eggs or milk.  

The family, my harshest critics, gave it the thumbs up. It’s an easy and relatively quick recipe. Not too many ingredients are needed and it’s perfect for Sunday brunch and for cold days. Enjoy.  

Niki Louca from My Greek Kitchen shares her favourite recipe for Halloumi and Honey Soufra with The Greek Herald. You can follow her on Instagram @mygreekkitchen for more!

Ingredients

• 200 gms grated halloumi
• 15 sheets of fillo pastry (I use Antoniou brand)
• 2 tsp dried mint
• 4 large eggs
• 400 gms thick cream
• 300 gms full fat milk
• 100 ml melted butter
• 100 ml olive oil
• Honey to drizzle

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 180C fan force.
2. Line a 30cm round baking tin making sure the baking paper exceeds the sides of the tin by 3-4 cm on all sides.
3. Melt the butter and add the olive oil to it. Set aside.
4. Starting at the narrow end of the fillo pastry, drizzle the olive oil/butter mixture with a pastry brush.  No need to spread it.
5. Concertine the sheet (like a fan) right to the top and coil into a snail like shape.  Don’t do it tightly.  Continue to do the same with the remainder sheets and continue the coil shape until your baking tray is full.  Keep adding the new sheet to where the coil finished previously to create one large coil.
6. Once all the sheets are done, butter the top of the fillo and bake for approximately 20 minutes till golden brown.
7. In the meantime in a bowl, mix the grated halloumi, eggs, milk, cream, and mint together.  Set aside.
8. Once the fillo sheets are golden brown, remove from the oven and lower your temperature to 160C.  Pour the halloumi mixture on to the fillo and with a knife move the pastry slightly so the mixture goes into all the nooks and crannies.  It is a thick mixture so don’t be alarmed.  It is crucial you do this step otherwise the halloumi will just stay on top and will not be evenly distributed through.
9. Place back into the oven for a further 25-30 minutes till golden brown.
10. Once cooked remove from the oven and leave it in the pan for about 10 minutes.
11. Carefully remove soufra onto a board or platter and drizzle generously with honey.
12. Best served warm.  Great for a morning or afternoon tea.

Niki Louca runs cooking classes in Melbourne. For more or to book classes visit My Greek Kitchen at www.mygreekkitchen.com.au or Instagram @mygreekkitchen. You can email Niki at: niki@mygreekkitchen.com.au.